Toilet-paper fixture



(No Model.) s ,sheets-sheet `1.

C. I'. GROSVENOR 8v H. E. HOLMES. TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

No. 460,775. Patented Oct.6. 1891.

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(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. C. P. GROSVBNOR 8v H. E. HOLMES.

TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

Patented Qot. 6, 1891.g /f I,

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

C. P. GROSVENOR & H. E. HOLMES. TOILET PAPER FIXTURE.

No. 460,775. Patented Oct. 6, 1891.

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Ataken upon line :c ot Fig. l.

UNITED STATES 4PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. GROSVENOR, Oli1 LUDLOV, AND HERBERT E. HOLMES, OFMITTINEAGUE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOILET-PAPER FIXTURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 460,77' 5, datedOctober 6, 1891. Application tiled December 15, 1890. Serial No.374,845. (No model.)

To (ou zul/1,0m it may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES F. GROSVE- NOR, of Ludlow, in the county ofHampden and State of Massachusetts, and HERBERT E. HOLMES, ofMittineagne, in the county of Hampden andState of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Devices for Holding andDelivering Toilet- Paper, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

O ur invention relates to means for holding packages of toilet-paper insheet form, as distinguished from those in which the paper is held in acontinuous roll, and to means for delivering said sheets of paper, oneat a time, from the holder as the same are required for use.

The objects of our invention are to provide a holder which is adapted toreceive the pa per in loose packages of any desired size, therebyobviating the necessity of previously punching the paper to receive aneedle or hook within the holder and avoiding the necessity of using thepaper furnished by any particular manufacturer or dealer, and to providedelivering means connected with such holder, which will infalliblydeliver but one sheet at a time, thereby preventing waste of the paper.

To these ends our invention consists in the device for holding anddelivering paper constructed and operating as hereinafter fullydescribed, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like parts are designated by likeletters in the several figures, Figure .l is a front view, partly invertical section, of a paper holding and delivering device embodying ourinvention. Fig. 2 is an end View thereof looking toward the right inFig. l. Fig. 3 is a cross-section Fig. 4 is a plan view with a portionof the box or casing broken away.

The lettera designates the box or casing for holding the paper, which ispreferably rectangular in shape, as shown, and of the proper length andwidth to receive loosely therein sheets of toilet-paper of the usual orany desired dimensions. Said box or casing will be provided withsuitable means `for securing it to a wall or other support and forenabling a package of paper to be inserted therein, and we prefer tosecure these results by hinging it at the bottom ot' its rear side to aback piece a', which back piece is pro vided with a staple a2 atitsupper end, adapted to enter an eye a3 on box a, thereby enabling' thelatter to be locked in its closed position by a suitable padlock a", orother suitable locking means. The back piece a is preferably secured tothe wall or other support by means of screws passing therethrough fromthe inner side of the box a, as indicated by broken lines, therebypreventing its removal without first gaining access to the interior-otsaid box. The box c, being thus hinged to the back piece, isadapted tobeswungdownwardly away from the latter whenever it is desired to insert apackage of paper therein, and to be again securely locked in its closedposition, thus preventing the removal ot' the paper, except by thedelivering means presently to be described.

Vithin the box d is located a false bottom a5 or other movable devicecapable of movement toward and away from the front side of the box,which is constantly pressed in the former direction by a spring a, saidspring, as herein shown, being of convolute form and of considerablediameter to secure a substantially uniform degree of pressure againstsaid false bottom throughout its range of movenient. Centrally locatedin the front side of box a is the delivery opening ai, and the sheets ofpaper b, being` placed in the box in front of said false bottom, arepressed by thelatter and its spring against or toward the front side ofthe box in such manner that a limited portion of the outermost sheetator near its center is exposed to the action of the delivery devicethrough said opening. To remove said sheets through said opening aone ata time, we depend upon the action of a frictional device which is causedto engage the outermost sheet, impart a turningortwistingmovementthereto to disengage it from the remaining sheets of the package, andthen withdraw the crumpled sheet through said opening by engaging it ator near its center. AVarious arrangements of mechanism for thus engagingIOO and. withdrawing the sheets of paper can loe employed within thespirit of our invention, but we prefer to use that shown in the drawingsand which will next be described.

The letter c designates a shaft revolubly mounted in suitable bearingsat the front side of the box or casing a, which shaft at one endprojects beyond the end of said box and has mounted thereon a pinion cand at its opposite end projects in front of the opening aT of the boxand carries at said end a bevel or other gear-wheel c2. Surrounding saidshaft at its inner end or the end to which the gear c2 is secured is ahub cl, which passes through the adjacent bearing for said shaft in suchmanner as to be capable of rotation about the shaft as a center andindependently of the latter. At its inner end said hub carries `twobracketarms d', in which is mounted a shaft e, the axis of which isperpendicular to that of shaft c, upon which shaft is mounted, betweensaid bracket-arms, a bevel or other gear e', which meshes with gear c2,whereby revolution of shaft c will impart a similar movement to saidshaft e. At one end thereof the shaft e carries a head e2, which, asshown, is circular in form, and has its face slightlyconcaved,asindicated bybrokenlines, said face being preferably coveredwith rubber or otherwise provided with a frictional surface. Said heade2 constitutes the medium for engaging and exerting a twistingfrictional action upon the paper, and while we have shown a head whichis of circular or disk form, it will be understood that the same couldconsist of radial arms or have various other forms without affecting itsoperation. The shaft eis of such length that in its normal position thehead e2 will project wit-hin the box through the opening a7, the shaftat such time occupying a position perpendicular to the face of theoutermost sheet of paper, and the paper being pressed squarely againsthead e2 by the false bottom and its spring.

The preferred means for revolving shaft c consists of a sector-lever f,pivoted at f to the end of box a, said lever being provided with teethwhich mesh with those of pinion c' and with a suitable handle f2 forconvenient manual operation thereof, whereby, by moving said lever aboutits pivot in one direction, shaft cwill be revolved in the oppositedirection, and vice versa, the movement of said shaft c beingtransmitted to shaft e through the gears c2 and e', as described. Acoilspring f3, secured at one end to the box and at the other to saidsector-lever, normally retains said lever in its forwardmost posit-ion,

in which position of said lever the head e2 on shaft e bears against theface of the outermost sheet of paper in the box, as before described. ltwill be obvious that with the parts in such-position if lever f be movedrearwardly a revolving movement will be imparted to head e2, and thatthe latter, by reason of its frictional engagement with the outermostsheet of paper, will twist thelatter from its center in such Vmanner asto disengage it from the next sheet and cause it to become hunched aboutsaid head. The sheet so hunched still remains within the box, hcwever,and it becomes necessary to withdraw the head with the paper through theopening-c1,7 of the box in order to enable the sheet to be used. Thisresult we secure byimparting a partial revolution to hub d about shaft pc as a center, and thereby swinging shaft e bodily in such manner as toreverse the position of its ends, the head e2 and the sheet ot' paperbeing carried upwardly and outwardly in said swinging movement. Weprovide for producing such partial revolution of hub d from a continuousmovement of the shaft c by rigidly securing upon the latter a collar c3,having projecting from the end thereof a stud or pin c4, adapted toengage the end of the hub, and by providing for a certain amount of lostmotion between said stud or pin and the hub, which lost motion, in theexample shown,`is secured by cutting away a portion of the end of thehub to form a shoulder extending diametrically across said end, againstwhich said stud or pin is adapted to be brought by a partial revolutionof shaft c in either direction.

In order to prevent head e2, as it returns to its normal positionagainst the paper from exerting a downward-rubbing action against theoutermost sheet and crumpling the latter in such manner as to interferewith its proper action in picking up said sheet, we employ a compressorto force back the package of' paper against the stress of spring ab',

IOO

suiiiciently to permit said head to resume its y normal position withouttouching the paper, whereupon the compressor is retracted,and the paperis forced against said head by spring d6. As herein shown, thecompressoris composed of a U-shaped lever g, having theupwardly-extendin g arms g', adapted to enter the openingin the frontside ofthe box and to bear against the package of paper at each side ofthe vertical plane in which the latteris engaged by head e2. At itslower end said lever g is rigidly secured to a shaft g2, which issupported in suitable bearings at the lower front side of the box insuch manner as to be capable of a rotary and also of a slight endwisemovement, and which projects slightly beyond the end of the box, asshown in Fig. l. A coil-spring g3, surrounding said shaft and connectedat one end to the shaft and' at its opposite end to the box, normallyretains the arms of lever g out ot' engagement with the paper or in theposition shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and tends to move shaft g2 in adirection to cause its end to project to a greater distance beyond theend of the box or toward the left in Fig. l. The end of said shaft isthus caused to bear against the inner side of sector-lever f, whichlever is provided upon said inner side with a depression or recessj,into which the end of said shaft normally projects, thus causing thelever gto normally occupy the position indicated by broken lilies inFig.1. The end walls of said depression or recessf are beveled, therebyenabling the sector-lever to act as a cam as the depression is movedpast the end of shaft g2 to force the latter and lever g to the positionshown by full lines in Fig. l, as will be presently described. To securethe requisite rotary movement of said shaft g2 to move lever grearwardly against the paper and depress the latter, we utilize an armd2 on hub d, so located lengthwise of said hub as to engage one of thearms g of said lever only when the latter occupies its normal position,said arm being provided with a wing gA1 at its upper end and upon itsfront side, againstwhich said arm d2 acts and beneath which it is heldto positively prevent rotary movement of the hub while head e2 is givenits initial revolving movement.

In Figs. 2 and 3 the different positions of the sector lever and heade2, (shown by full and broken lines,) are designated by correspondingnumerals, and, referring more particularly to said figures, theoperation of the device is as follows: Starting with the normal positionof said parts, indicated by the numeral l, in which the paper is pressedsquarely against head e2 by spring a0, and compressor g occupies theposition indicated b.y broken lines ln Fig. i with its wing g4overlapping arm d2 on hub d, the handle f2 of the sector-lever isgrasped and moved rearwardly or away from the operator, therebyimparting a rapid revolving movement to shaft e and head e2 throughshaft c, pinion c', and gears c2 e', and causing the outermost sheet ofpaper to become hunched about head e2, hub d during such initialmovement of said-head heilig positively held against accidental rotarymovement by wing g4 of the compressor, as before described. Shortlybefore the sector-lever reaches the position designated by numeral 2,the end wall of the depression f4 therein is brought into engagementwith the end of shaft g2 and moves the latter and the compressor to theposition shown by full lines in Figi, and pin c4 on collar c is broughtinto contact with thc shoulder on hub d and begins to revolve thelatter, so that when said sector-lever reaches said point (designated bynumeral 2) shaft e has been swung upwardly to a substantially verticalposition, head c2 carrying with it the bunched sheet of paper, asrepresented by full lines in Fig. 2. The continued movement of thesector-lever to its extreme rearward position (designated by numeral S)carries shaft e to the position similarly indicated, in which its endsare reversed, head e2 still carrying the sheet of paper, as indicated bybroken lines in Fig. 3. The sheet of paper is thus withdrawn from thebox and presen ted to the operator in crumpled form by a continuousbackward movement of the sector-lever. lf now the sector-lever bereleased, spring f3 immediately returns it to its normal position,

its forward movement at first simply revolving shaft e and head c2 inthe reverse direction, thereby releasing the sheet of paper, and then aspin c'l is brought into contact with the opposite side of the shoulderon hub d swinging said shaft and head back to their normal position.Then the sector-lever and head e2 in such return movement have arrivedat substantially the position indicated by numeral 4 in Fig. 2, therecess f4 in the sector-lever is again brought opposite to the end ofshaft g2, and said shaft is forced by its spring g3 into said recess,thus returning compressor g to its normal posit-ion laterally, whereuponarm d2 on hub d engages the front side of wing g* on said compressor,and by the continued rotation of said hub, rocks the same rearwardlyagainst the paper, pressing the latter toward the rear of the box as thehead c2 nears its normal position, and enabling said head to resume suchposition without rubbing against. the outermost sheet. Vhen said arm d2on hub d reaches its lowest position, it clears wing g4 on thecompressor, and the latter is moved outwardly by its spring g3, therebypermitting the paper to be moved against head e2 by spring a6, andcausing said wing g4 to again overlap said arm d2, as before. All of theparts are thus restored to their normal positions, and the device isready to be again operated to withdraw a second sheet of paper. Sheetsof paper can thus be withdrawn from the box as rapidly as thesector-lever can be moved back and forth about its pivot, the head e2infallibly taking up a single sheet at a time without displacing in anymanner the suc ceeding sheet. To protect the shafts @and g2 from dirtand injury, we prefer to inclose them within a housing 7L at the frontside of box a, as shown, the side walls of the housing thus affordingbearings for said shafts, and, if desired, a hood or cover for theremaining parts of the delivery mechanism, having an opening to admit ofthe passage of head e2 with the sheet of paper can be employed.

By rendering it impossible to withdraw the paper from the holder exceptby a single sheet at a time, the device devised by us tends to obviatewaste of the paper, and by delivering IOO the sheets in crumpled formthe likelihood of a quantity of paper being carried away for future useis greatly lessened-results of prime importance to those who furnishpaper for workshops, hotels, railway-stations, and other public places.Furthermore, by obviating the use of any detaining device for thepackage of paper, such as a needle or hook, we do away with the time andtrouble involved in punching or otherwise preparing the package toreceive such detaining device each time the paper is renewed in theholder. Again, by withdrawing the paper from the holder through anopening in the front side of the latter, and by a device which engagesthe sheet in a plane perpendicular to the face of the same, we areenabled to make the delivery mechanism operate successfully` with sheetsof any size greater than that. `of said opening in the holder, andthereby enablethe owner of the holder to purchase his paper' in at formand cut, it into, sheetsof any desired size.. A great.saving in theexpenseiof keep,- ing the holder supplied with paper-is thuis. efrfected, as compared` with th-oseformsof holders which are only adaptedto receive paperof a certain form,and,which must be, procured ofYoneparticular manufacturer or dealer. By making the holder of metal, as3is preferred, it presents a neat and attractive appearance, and isgiven. the requisitestrengthand dura-- bility.

. Believing ourselves to be theirst todevise aholder forftoiletpaperqinwhich a sheet is,

withdrawn through. an opening in the, front side thereof by a devicewhich exerts accurbined rubbing and twisting action again-st the centralportion of said sheetw.e de notl wish to limit ourselves to the exactdetailszof construction herein` shown and describedfor securing suchresult,as various modifications; therein can be made without departurefrom the spirit. of our invention. y

Having thus filly described our in ventien, what we claim, and desire tosecureby Letters Patent, is;-

. l. A holder for toilet-paper, consistingof a said box having its rearsidefopen. and having at its front side an opening for thewithdrawal ofa sheet of paper, a back piece, to which said box is. hinged at its rearside, said back piece having within the area thereof covered by the boxin its closed position, mean-s, such as screw-holes, whereby it can besecurely fastened to a wall or other support, and means f or lookin 0said box in itsl closed position upon said back piece, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. A holder for toilet-paper, consistingof a box-like lreceptacle for apackage ofl paper having in the front side thereof and lying whollywithin the edges of said side, a centrally-located opening of less areathan thatof the sheets of paper composing said package and provided witha spring adapted to press the paper toward said front side, andadelivery device for engaging the'outermost sheet of paper at or nearthe center thereof and withdrawing it from the receptacle through saidopening, combined and operating substantially as described.

3. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like receptacle for apackage of paper having in the front side thereof a centrallylocatedopening and provided with a spring tov press the paper toward said frontside, a rotating head adapted to bear `against the outermost sheet ofpaper in the plane of said opening in the receptacle, and means forwithdrawing said head th rough said opening, combined and operatingsubstantially as described. 4... A holder for toilet-paper, consistingofa box-like receptacle for a package of paper having in the fron-t sidethereof a centrallylocated opening and provided With al spring forpressing; the paper toward said, frontside, a shaft carrying at. o neend thereof, a. head' lwhich isadapted tobear against the outermostsheetof paper, saidshaftbeing supported in bearingsawhich are movable;to advance said head through theopenigng in the receptacle andtor-withdraw ittherefronnand means for imparting a revolving movementtosaid. shaft, combined and operating substantially asset; forth..

5. A holder for toiletpaper, consisting of a box-like receptacle; for apackage ofpape-r having in thefront side thereof an opening of less.area than that of the sheets-ot 'paper i composing said package andprovided with a spring for pressing the paper toward said front side, ahub revolubly mounted in bearings at, the front side of said receptacleand f having its axis parallelvvitlr the, front side of the; latter, ashaft supported in. bearingsupen 1 said hub,` the. axis of which, isperpendicular l to that of the; hub, said shaft carrying at one endlthereof a head adapted tov be moved into `icontact with the outermostsheet ot paper i through the opening in said receptacle bythe .lrotation of said hub, and means, subst-antially as described, forimparting arevolving box. adapted to receive a package of paper,

movement to said shaft and a. rotary movef mentA to said hub, combinedand operating substantiallyA asv set forth.

6. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like recept-acleadapted to receive. loosely therein a package of paper, said receptacle`having in the front side thereof a, centrallyl disposed opening andprovided with a spring adapted to` press the paper toward said frontside, a hub revolubl-y mounted in bearings at the front, side of saidreceptacle,l the axis of which is parallel with the front side of thelatter, said hub having at one end thereof bearings for supporting ashaft, a shaft. supported in said bearings and having its axisperpendicular to that of said hub., said shaft carrying at one endthereof a head adapted to bear against the face of the outermost sheetof paper 'Within the receptacle, a` secondary shaft passing looselythrough said hub and having gear connection with said head-carryingshaft, and intermediateconnections, sub-y i stantially asdescribed,between said secondary shaft and said hub, whereby a partialrevolution is imparted tothe latter by the former to move said head intoand out. of the recep tacle through the opening in the latter, combinedand operating substantially as described.

7. The combination, with a box-like receptacle for loosely holding apackage of toiletpaper, having in the front sidethereof acentrally-disposed opening for exposing an area of the outermost sheetof paper lying Wholly within the edges of such sheet and provided with aspring for pressing the. paper toward said front side, of an engagingdevice for en- IOO IIO

gaging the outermost sheet of paper movable toward and away from thepaper through said opening in the receptacle, and a compressor alsomovable toward and away from the paper for holding the paper out of thepath of movement of said engaging' device until the latter reaches itsoperative position, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a box-like receptacle for holding a package oftoiletpaper, having in the front side thereof a centrallydisposedopening and provided with a spring for pressing the package of papertoward said front side, of a hub revolubly supported in bearings at thefront side of said receptacle and having' its axis parallel with saidside, a shaft supported in bearings on said hub with its axisperpendicular to that of the latter, said shaft carrying' at one endthereof a flattened head adapted to bear against the face of theoutermost sheet of paper when said shaft occupies its normal position, asecondary shaft passing loosely through said hub and having gearconnection with said head-carrying' shaft, intermediate connections,substantially las described, between said secondary shaft and saidhub,wherebya partial revolution will be imparted to the latter from theformer to move said head into and out of engagement with the package ofpaper, means for manually operating said secondary shaft, a pivotallysupported compressor lever adapted to be moved into and out ofengagement with the paper, a spring normally retaining said lever out ofengag'ement with the paper, and means, as an arm on said hub, for movingsaid lever into engagement with the paper and forcing the latter out ofthe path of movement of said head as the latter approaches its normalposition, substantially as and for the purpose described.

9. In a holder for toilet-paper, the combination, with the box a, havingan opening in the front side thereof and a spring for pressing' apackage of paper loosely placed Within said box toward said front side,of hub CZ, shaft c, supported upon said hub and carrying a head, as e2,shaft c, passing loosely through said hub, said shaft having gearconnection at one end with said shaft e and carrying at its opposite endpinion c', toothed sector-lever f,

nation, with box d', having opening al therein and provided With falsebottom a5 and spring a, of hub d, provided With arm d2, shaft c,intermediate connections between said shaft and hub, whereby the latteris given a partial revolution from the former, sector-lever f, engaginga pinion on said shaft and having a recess, as f", in the side thereof,compressorlever g, shaft g2, adapted to have both a re volving and anendWise movement in its bearings, said shaft carrying said lever g atone end and having its opposite end in engagement with the side of saidsector-lever, and springs g3 andfs, arranged and operating substantiallyas set forth.

ll. A holder for toilet-paper, consisting of a box-like receptacleadapted to receive loosely therein a package of toilet-paper, saidreceptacle having in one of the sides thereof an opening' of less areathan that of the sheets of paper composing' said package and having aspring arranged to press the paper toward said opening, and a deliverydevice for withdrawing said sheets of paper one at a time through saidopening', the same consisting of a shaft revolubly supported in movablebearings and carrying at one end thereof a disk having aslightly-concaved frictional face adapted to bear against the face ofthe outermost sheet of paper in the normal position of said shaft,means, substantially as described, for imparting au initial revolvingmovement to said shaft to cause the outermost sheet of paper to becomehunched about said disk, and means, substantially as described, forimparting movement to the bearings in Which said shaft is supported towithdraw said disk and the sheet of paper from the receptacle, combinedand operating substantially as set forth.

CHARLES F. GROSVENOR. HERBERT E. HOLMES. \.\."itnesses:

W. H. CHAPMAN, J. E. CHAPMAN.

